First-ever celebration highlights the innovation that happens everywhere at UW
Dear friends of CoMotion,
On rainy Seattle days, Mount Rainier likes to play hide and seek, so much so that I’ve had a few wintertime visitors doubting its very existence. Yet, it only takes a walk on Rainier Vista on a glorious spring day to take in the majesty of the mountain and to remember how much it is part of our identity. Like many Pacific Northwest innovators, Tahoma is both inspirational and rugged, inviting yet challenging—a constant reminder to keep pushing onward and upward in the face of setbacks. It is no accident that we chose a stylized version of Mount Rainier, with a pink accent that brings to mind our cherry blossoms, to usher in UW’s first-ever Innovation Month.
This campus-wide celebration showcases the innovative work that happens everywhere at UW, every day. It recognizes the commitment of members of our community—students, researchers, postdocs, faculty, and staff across our three campuses—to not only reach great heights in their fields, but to imagine new possibilities and as-yet uncharted paths toward a brighter future for all. Innovation at UW is both a process and an imperative; we are all called upon to think big and work hard because the world needs our ideas, now more than ever.
Innovation Month encompasses 65+ events, each shining a light on a different facet of innovation. From capstones and showcases to concerts, exhibitions, symposia, and webinars, the fabric of UW innovation is as diverse as the academic units hosting them. You may want to prime young learners for a career in STEM by taking them to Engineering Discovery Days on May 2-3, learn about opportunities for leading people in a post-pandemic world at the Evans School of Public Policy & Governance on May 9, or attend a pitch session at the final round of the Dempsey Startup Competition, held by the Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship on May 23. From the College of Arts & Sciences Producing Artist Lab on May 9-12 to the DXARTS Spring Concert on May 15 and the School of Music Jazz Innovations on May 29-30, innovation abounds in the arts and humanities.
Take a moment to browse the full lineup of Innovation Month events and build a plan that reflects your interests and curiosities. I’ll also challenge you to attend an event outside your comfort zone; whether you’re working with a stethoscope or a saxophone, I think you’ll find that pervasive innovation elevates the soul, challenges the mind, and brings all of us closer together.
A hallway in our new CoMotion headquarters in Condon Hall is filled with logos of companies that have spun out of the University of Washington, companies built around novel technologies—once ideas— with the potential to serve the public good. This type of output and entrepreneurial activity is an important component of our collective impact, to be sure. What it fails to capture though, is the intangible spirit of innovation that pulses within all of us and drives us onward and upward.
What new heights can we imagine next?
Be well,
François Baneyx